Hello, friends! A lot to talk about today. Let’s start by saying happy birthday to Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman, who turns 60 today.
The IIHF Men’s Worlds begin today. We’ve got five Red Wings players who will be participating:
Team Sweden: Lucas Raymond, Erik Gustafsson, Simon Edvinsson
Team Austria: Marco Kasper
Team Germany: Moritz Seider
The tournament starts with Austria vs Finland at about 10:20 AM ET. Sweden will play Slovakia at 2:20 PM ET. Team Germany won’t play until tomorrow – they’ll take on Hungary at 10:20 AM ET. You can watch on NHL Network, or TSN if you’re in Canada. Go team(s)!
Next, some rather unfortunate news that surfaced in recent days. It’s probably not “news” at this point, but needs to be mentioned. Beloved Detroit sports personality Trevor Thompson is out at FanDuel Sports Network. The news came not long after the announcement that Mickey York was being let go. Thompson had been on the Detroit sports RSN beat for 25 years, and was part of many memorable moments.. Such as the time he played keepaway with Pavel Datsyuk.
I’m pretty furious at this news. FanDuel Sports Network is totally unserious, so I can’t say I am surprised. Seemed like the writing was on the wall when John Keating announced his retirement earlier in the season. It would be really nice if the Ilitch family could make this right and bring Trev or Mickey (or both!) onto their payroll, much like Daniella Bruce, Jason Benetti, Mickey Redmond, and Ken Daniels. I’d also like to see the Ilitch family start planning for the next phase of Detroit sports broadcasting, which will almost certainly be without an RSN like FanDuel Sports Network in the future. Ilitch Sports Network. It’s right there. Just do it.
Over to the AHL, where the Grand Rapids Griffins are facing elimination from the Calder Cup Playoffs tonight in Texas. The Stars took both game one and two at Van Andel Arena. It hasn’t been pretty to say the least. It may take a miracle for the Griffins to win the next three games. That’s all I’ve got to say about that.
Meanwhile, the Toledo Walleye will going in the second round of the Kelly Cup Playoffs against Fort Wayne tomorrow night. The Walleye have been idle for some time after sweeping the first round. Hell of a team, could be poised for a deep run.
Finally, just want to mention a recent article from Sam Stockton at The Hockey News. Stockton took a look at three potential trade candidates for the Red Wings this offseason. The three players are Kyle Connor, Filiip Forsberg, and Mika Zibanejad. I’m not sure I see any of these scenarios happening.. Maybe Forsberg? Connor would be amazing, but I can’t see Winnipeg parting ways with him. He’s been one of the most underrated scorers in the NHL for quite some time. Not exactly the player you get rid of unless the return is SUBSTANTIAL. Zibanejad is old and a shell of the player he once was. Not interested. Forsberg, well maybe. Nashville could be desperate after farting all over the NHL this past season. A shakeup could be likely, but I’m not jumping out of my seat to mortgage up a bunch of assets just yet. I think the focus needs to be trimming the fat (getting rid of bad players) first before anything.
That’s all for now. Have a nice weekend, and an early Happy Mother’s Day to all of the moms out there. Not sure how many read WIIM, but we’re thinkin’ of ya!
